Lack of sleep and weight gain:
Intriguing preliminary research findings

I became a firm believer in the importance of
adequate sleep several years ago when a Wyoming Highway Patrolman gave a field
sobriety test to several senior 4-H members during an educational program I
helped coordinate. One 4-H member did not pass the test, not because she had
been drinking alcohol, but because she had not slept much for several days due
to studying for final exams. The patrolman stated that drivers suffering from
sleep deprivation were a growing problem on the state’s highways. Research over
the last several years is also finding a possible link between sleep deprivation
and weight gain. The theory is that lack of sleep may actually increase your
appetite, which can result in weight gain. Other studies suggest a possible link
with sleep deprivation and an increase in blood sugar and blood pressure.

Jennifer Motl, a
registered dietitian, jokingly refers to adequate sleep as vitamin Z.
She states that adjustments in eating and physical activity routines may
also need to be teamed with adjustments in sleeping routines to achieve long
term goals associated with weight, blood sugar and blood pressure.

According to a 2005 poll
conducted by the National Sleep Foundation, adult Americans now sleep about
seven hours a night. In the 1960's, it was estimated that most adults in the
United States were sleeping about nine hours a night. Could the decrease in
sleep hours be one piece of the puzzle explaining why obesity rates have
more than doubled in the U.S. since the 1960's?

In a laboratory setting,
sleep deprivation has proven to cause both rodents and humans to eat more.
Research studies in the United States, Britain, Japan and Brazil have all
linked less sleep with being overweight or obese.

Sleeping less than five
hours a night was linked to a greater risk of diabetes in the Nurses Health
Study that followed 70,000 women in the U.S. Smaller studies in Germany,
Sweden, and Finland found similar results linking lack of sleep to a greater
risk of diabetes in both men and women.

Sleep apnea is a
sleep-disordered breathing condition. Researchers at Rush University Medical
Center in Chicago found that controlling sleep apnea could improve blood
sugar levels in people with diabetes. Individuals with diabetes who wore a
special breathing mask for at least four hours a night saw their blood sugar
levels drop by about 40 percent during the day.

A Japanese study found
that going 24 hours without sleep caused blood pressure to increase by about
16 percent in healthy individuals.

Current theories suggest
that lack of sleep causes the body to produce more stress hormones and these
hormonal changes can make us hungrier. Lack of sleep many also lead to
feelings of tiredness that could limit people’s energy levels to be
physically active and could also cause people to be more vulnerable to
overeating.

When it comes to a
healthy lifestyle, don’t underestimate the importance of vitamin Z
(sleep). Research from around the world strongly suggests that adequate
sleep is an important component of both eating normal portions and having
the energy to be physically active.